Has the objective of buying a house changed?

RubyHouse

I’ve been a long time lurker of the forum whilst I’ve been saving for my first house, Im getting the impression that the objective of buying a house has changed from generation to generation.
Many of the threads on the forum are from people concerned about what will /wont affect their house price (sometimes to silly amount of detail). The idea seems to always be to sell for a profit.

I am in the process of buying my first home which needs a little work but I am not yet concerned about the resaleablity or the increase in value but I know I want to move to the country eventually (outside my current budget) and hope that this step will help me get there.

I see the main objective of buying a house as moving up the ladder, is this different to say 30 / 40 / 50 years ago?
As a millennial, I couldn’t help but wonder, do older generations view houses in the same way?

KL0001

Most FTB are not going to buying their forever home. They will be looking for it to be a step up the ladder, an increase in profitability from a home can mean that you will be able to make that next step sooner rather than later. We!!!8217;re in the process of buying our 2nd home, whilst I!!!8217;d have loved for this to be our last move, it!!!8217;s not possible, so instead we!!!8217;ve opted for a house that needs work so that it can make some profit and so we can look to move again in the next few years. Our house purchase/sale will cost approximately £15k in expenses, if the house isn!!!8217;t profitable, that!!!8217;s a huge dent in our budget for our next house so we will need to make that back.

lena_halo

I'm currently in the process of buying my first house with my partner (he's a FTB, I have a shared ownership flat I bought 5 years ago, just sold and made £30K) and we were looking for a lovely home to spend some years in. Whilst it might not be our forever home, it will be our home hopefully for a long time so we were just focused on a lovely place rather than adding value etc. We feel comfortable that we have paid a good price and that the value will only increase over the years, but it's not our main focus.

sal_III

I believe it's mostly the bias of the audience of this forum. People that aren't that "mad" about their property value are not the usual posters/readers here.

ForumUser

lena_halo I'm currently in the process of buying my first house with my partner (he's a FTB, I have a shared ownership flat I bought 5 years ago, just sold and made £30K) and we were looking for a lovely home to spend some years in. Whilst it might not be our forever home, it will be our home hopefully for a long time so we were just focused on a lovely place rather than adding value etc. We feel comfortable that we have paid a good price and that the value will only increase over the years, but it's not our main focus.

You do realise that the average sale price for flats in the UK has increased by 35% in the last 5 years don't you, and house prices have increased similarly. If your share in the flat was purchased for £100k, you will have needed to have sold it for £165k to have "made" £30k ahead of the market.

Cakeguts

I bought a house in about 1984 because there was nothing nice available to rent at that time. The only way that you could get a decent property was to buy one. The lack of good quality rental property was caused by the rent acts and controlled rents. Controlling rents causes landlords with nice properties to sell them or just not let them. The only properties left are the ones that are difficult to sell or not in very good condition. It also reduces choice.

Thrugelmir

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

I'll get back to you on the 50s!

In your latter years you look back and wonder why you spent all that money chasing a dream. There's far more important things to concern yourself with......

kingstreet

I do this stuff for a living and house price inflation helps no-one until you are able to "cash out."

The only ones who benefit are selling in the SE after years of inflation and who can then afford a UK home in Cornwall and a villa in Spain as a result.

No criticism intended. It's often a pure accident of birth.

PokerPlayer111

RubyHouse wrote: »

I see the main objective of buying a house as moving up the ladder,

IMO just buy approx what you need and no more. If you buy excess you are then investing in housing which may or may not be a good thing but you have to work that out and monitor your investment. The ladder is inside you .

SG27

kingstreet wrote: »

I do this stuff for a living and house price inflation helps no-one until you are able to "cash out."

The only ones who benefit are selling in the SE after years of inflation and who can then afford a UK home in Cornwall and a villa in Spain as a result.

No criticism intended. It's often a pure accident of birth.

Exactly!!

I am amazed how few people understand this.

I have just "made" £105,000 on my 2 bed house in just 5 years!! :beer:

Unfortunately the 3 bed family homes I need are now £160,000 more than 5 year ago!!

I would be greatful if someone could explain how this mythical famous "housing ladder" works as it only seems to get harder!

kev25v6

SG27 wrote: »

Exactly!!

I am amazed how few people understand this.

I have just "made" £105,000 on my 2 bed house in just 5 years!! :beer:

Unfortunately the 3 bed family homes I need are now £160,000 more than 5 year ago!!

I would be greatful if someone could explain how this mythical famous "housing ladder" works as it only seems to get harder!

Don’t forget the mortgage payments paid out over those years too.